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Sunday, 11 December 2011

Christian teenager martyred in kidnap attempt

A Catholic girl has been martyred, and her mother beaten in a failed kidnap / rape attempt.

The girl, Amariah Masih (aka Mariah Manisha) was martyred on 27th November. She and her mother were riding on a motor bike to pick up drinking water, (unavailable in their village of Tehsil Samundari, near Faisalabad) when a Muslim man grabbed the motorbike and tried to drag the girl off at gunpoint, and when she resisted he shot her twice killing her in the process.

The culprit was Arif Gujjar, and surprise surprise, he was the son of a local wealthy landowner. The local Catholic church, with some justification, are calling her a martyr, on the grounds that she did not want to convert to Islam or marry the man, and this was why she was killed.

The local priest, Father Zafal Iqbal, stated 'Wealthy and influential landowners often take aim at those who are marginalized and vulnerable, for their dirty interests'.

In Pakistan, rape victims are often imprisoned for 'fornication' and then forced to marry their rapists. Muslims are not allowed to marry Christians, so the victims are forced to convert to Islam. The perpetrators deliberately use this factor to both gratify their wicked lusts and claim a 'victory' for their religion - a new convert, aided and abetted by the courts, the police and society. Christian women are incredibly vulnerable legally, because a Christian's testimony is worth half that of a Muslim in Sharia courts, and a Christian women's word is worth even less.

Please pray for the mother, Razia Bibi, and for all the family.

Also pray that justice would be done in this case against the vile perpetrator, Arif Gujjar, that local Imams or his family would fail in the usual attempts to let the perpetrators cheat justice.

We are collecting funds to assist the family with legal costs, if you would like to donate please use the pay pal link at the top right hand corner of our blog. Alternatively send cheques to the address included in the header. Any donations should be referenced BPCA/Amaria Masih. Thank you.

On December 6th 2011 The Express Tribune wrote:

Samundri Sadar police have arrested a man from an influential family for the murder of a Christian girl found shot and killed on November 27.

The family of deceased Amariah Masih, 18, had accused Arif Gujjar, 28, who belongs to an influential landowning family of the village, and his accomplices of killing the girl after sexually assault.

Sub Inspector Abdul Ghani, who is investigating the case, told The Express Tribune that Gujjar had denied the allegations during interrogation. “He said the girl must have committed suicide,” he said.

Ghani said Gujjar had been arrested under Section 302 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) but added that the police had yet to produce the suspect before the court. The law requires that a suspect be produced before the court within 48 hours of arrest.

Also, he said, the police had to ascertain the identity and number of Gujjar’s accomplices and recover the weapon allegedly used to kill the girl.

SI Ghani said the sexual assault charge would be added to the FIR only if it was established in the report of the medical samples sent to a laboratory in Lahore.

The SI said according to the post mortem examination report two bullet wounds were found in the body, one in the chest and the other in the abdomen.

According to the complaint filed by the girl’s father, Mansha Masih, Amariah was kidnapped by Gujjar in Chak No475-GB on her way to a well to fetch water. It said the deceased was accompanied by her mother, Razia Bibi. She told the police that Gujjar and an unidentified man intercepted them and took her daughter away. She said the two beat her up on putting up resistance. The body of the girl was found lying in the fields the next day.

Mansha told to the Tribune that the family of the suspect was pressuring him to withdraw the FIR. “They’re influential people but I won’t settle for compensation,” he said.

He alleged that Gujjar and his friends were notorious for misbehaving with girls from poor households.

He said a Muslim delegation had visited him after his daughter’s funeral. “They assured me of their support in prosecuting the suspect,” he said. Father Zafal Iqbal, who led the funeral services, said there were a large number of Christian households in the village and that they would all assist the bereaved family and ensure that justice was done in the case.

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